


Intern AU

by pallasfuriosa



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Intern AU, Modern AU, fairly slow burn, polyamorous suyin forever and always
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-20 23:19:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6029202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pallasfuriosa/pseuds/pallasfuriosa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuvira is an intern at Baatar's architecture firm, and she catches the eye of his wife, Suyin, at a company party. Slow(ish) build of their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kuvira never wanted to go to her boss's party for his new offices, but here she was. Drinking champagne with the swanky architects who worked in the firm. Kuvira was just an intern, too far down the company ladder to be of any importance. However Baatar had personally invited her, so Kuvira hadn't dared refuse. Baatar had said hello to her when she showed up, but Kuvira hadn't seen him since. To be fair, she had been clinging to the walls of the office, avoiding anyone who had looked like they wanted to talk to her. Kuvira sighed and looked down at her glass. It was empty. Somehow she had managed to drink the whole glass, and Kuvira didn't even drink. No wonder she felt tipsy.  
"Would you like me to get you another drink?" A long pair of dark legs in a short gray dress asked her. Kuvira's head snapped up to look into the face of a woman much older than her. A beautiful woman, Kuvira added as an afterthought. She had smooth tan skin, and short gray hair styled in a way that reminded Kuvira of actresses from the twenties. But it was the woman's eyes that really drew Kuvira in; they were bright green and full of mischief. The woman smiled at her, and Kuvira realized she'd been staring.  
"What?" she asked, a blush rising on her cheeks.  
The woman laughed. "I asked if you wanted another drink. I noticed yours was empty." Even her voice was beautiful. The champagne must have been stronger than Kuvira thought, if she thought a voice was beautiful.  
"Oh no thank you. I don't drink. My boss just handed it to me, and I didn't want to seem rude." Kuvira explained. She quickly set the empty glass on the nearest table to distance herself from its implications.  
"You work for Baatar?" the woman exclaimed. She lightly hit Kuvira on the elbow, making Kuvira shudder at the unexpected contact. "You must be Kuvira then. Baatar's my husband, by the way. Suyin Beifong. He told me he'd hired a new intern, but I didn't realize that he'd hired a cute one."  
She's Baatar's wife! Kuvira had a hard time believing it. Baatar was a nice man and decent looking. But Suyin was drop dead gorgeous. And she thinks I'm cute. What's with that? Kuvira looked up at Suyin. She was still talking animatedly to Kuvira.  
"I'm sorry. I missed that last bit of what you said." Kuvira said. If she was going to be forced into a conversation with Suyin, she at least had enough courtesy to do it right.  
"Oh, that's alright dear. I was just saying that I admire a person who doesn't drink. I could never do it." Suyin laughed infectiously, and Kuvira found herself laughing with her. "After five kids, I decided to never let myself go without a glass of wine or two in the evening." Suyin placed her arm on Kuvira's again. She resisted the urge to withdraw hers.  
"Wow, I guess you deserve the wine then, Suyin." Kuvira could not believe that she was slightly tipsy and making small talk with the hot wife of her boss.  
"Kuvira, you must call me Su. All my good friends do." So now I'm her good friend, Kuvira thought. I just met the woman. "Now Kuvira, you're a student, yes?" Suyin smiled big at Kuvira.  
"Yeah. I'm going to start my senior year this fall. I'm actually a landscape architecture student, but Baatar was intrigued by my designs and hired me. I'm enjoying the chance to broaden my horizons by working here." Kuvira felt herself begin to open up to Suyin. She was just so nice to Kuvira and seemed genuinely interested in what Kuvira was saying.  
"Well, I'm sure that you're a wonderful architect if you're working at my husband's." She leaned against Kuvira conspiratorially, "He only takes the best and brightest students as his interns."  
Suyin moved away, but Kuvira could still feel Suyin's hot breath on her ear. She could feel the older woman's weight as she leaned against Kuvira. It stirred something deep within her core. Kuvira hurried to squash that feeling before it could show on her face. "It's been wonderful chatting with you, Kuvira dear. But I should rejoin my husband and play the faithful arm candy." Suyin grinned deviously and kissed Kuvira on the cheek before flitting off.  
Kuvira was left standing awestruck in Suyin's wake. The woman had been so... intense. Like the sun. But if the sun were a person. Kuvira sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. That conversation with Suyin had drained Kuvira. She resigned herself to spending the rest of the party leaning casually on the table behind her.  
As Kuvira watched the rest of the partygoers throughout the rest the evening, she found her eyes being drawn again and again to Suyin Beifong's slender form. Kuvira couldn't deny that Suyin was gorgeous. Especially in the sparkly, gray cocktail dress she was wearing. It made her ass look rather nice, and Kuvira blushed, thinking about it. Several times during the course of the evening Suyin caught Kuvira watching her, and she would smile or wink at Kuvira. Kuvira couldn't wait for the party to be over.

At the end of the evening, Kuvira found herself at the end of the line of exiting guests. Baatar and Suyin were at the door, saying goodbye to everyone as they left. When it was Kuvira's turn to say farewell to the hosts, Baatar gripped her hand in a firm handshake. "Thank you for coming Kuvira. I hope you enjoyed the party."  
"I did." She was only half lying. Meeting Suyin, as turbulent as it had been, had been nice. And her few office friends had stopped and chatted with her.  
Suyin pulled Kuvira into a quick hug and gave her a kiss on each cheek. "I hope to see you again soon, Kuvira." She winked.  
Kuvira nodded and ducked out of the offices. She practically ran home, high heels and all. Once she was back at her apartment, the only thing on Kuvira's mind was Suyin Beifong. She took a Benadryl and hoped that sleep would rid the vision of Suyin in a cocktail dress kissing her from Kuvira's mind.

"Did you really have to flirt with my intern, Su? She's half your age." Baatar asked his wife as they lay in bed after the party.  
Suyin huffed. "Well, she was hot. You left out that part when you described her to me." She leaned over to give her husband a peck on the cheek.  
"I wonder why?" Baatar grumbled. "Please don't alienate the best intern I've ever had. It reflects poorly on my business if my wife seduces all my interns." He turned the page of his landscape architecture magazine without looking up at Su.  
She pouted at him. "At least invite her to dinner. She was fairly receptive at the party. She couldn't keep her eyes off of me, and I want to see if it wasn't just the alcohol. Please Baatar, for me. " Baatar took one look at his wife's face and knew he'd have to invite Kuvira over. He sighed. Suyin whooped and kissed her husband emphatically.


	2. Chapter 2

Kuvira was finishing up her work for the day when Baatar came over to her desk. "Kuvira," he began, "would you like to join my wife and I for dinner on Friday? Su was quite impressed with you at the party last weekend and wants to get to know you better."  
Suyin had been on Kuvira's mind off and on all week, but she was still flabbergasted by Baatar's question. Suyin Beifong wanted to get to know her. Kuvira, the lowly intern. Kuvira had to admit that she had been impressed by Suyin. She just exuded the aura of the kind of woman that you didn't want to disappoint, you wanted to do things to make her like you. Kuvira realized Baatar was still standing in front of her desk, waiting for an answer. "Sorry, lost in thought. I would be happy to join you for dinner on Friday. What time?"  
"How about right after work? You can just ride home with me. And you and Su can talk while I cook dinner." Baatar wrung his hands together as he talked. Kuvira wondered if he was nervous about asking her over. There was nothing in the rules of the firm against having dinner at the boss's, but Kuvira guessed it wasn't a regular occurrence.  
"Umm, okay. That sounds good." Baatar nodded and waved a small goodbye at Kuvira. He looked as preoccupied as Kuvira felt.  
Kuvira left work and walked home to her apartment on campus. Baatar's offices weren't far from the school, so Kuvira chose to walk when the weather was good instead of riding the bus. As she walked, Kuvira tried to decompress like normal. But dinner with the Beifongs kept interrupting her. Kuvira hadn't been this apprehensive about a situation since she had applied for the internship at Baatar's firm. Suyin had been politely interested in what Kuvira had to say at the party, which hadn't been much, just landscape architecture things. Kuvira wasn't very good at interpersonal communication. It was one of the reasons she lived alone. Eventually, Kuvira ended up alienating all of her friends. She had even been engaged, but that ended in flames, like all of her relationships. Kuvira took several deep breaths to calm herself, then jogged the rest of the way to her apartment. Dwelling on the past would get her nowhere, Kuvira had to focus on the future and live in the present.  
Kuvira walked into her studio apartment, and without turning on a single light, gathered her "at home clothes" and went to take a shower. Under the steady stream of water, she was able to push all her worries about dinner out of her head and focus on her latest architecture project. A client of Baatar's was wisescaping her backyard to use less water, and he had given the project to Kuvira, the only landscape architect at the firm. Kuvira was thrilled to be given complete control of the project. She had already printed pages of research on native, arid plants sitting on her kitchen table. In her head, Kuvira started drawing up basic plans for the yard. Instead of grass, which wasted most of the water used to keep it green, Kuvira would put in an open space with a nice ground-covering moss. Mosses soak up all the moisture they're given.  
Now that she was all decompressed from thinking about plants, Kuvira hopped out of the shower and made herself some dinner. She grilled up a burger and ate it with bunless with some ketchup on top. Ah, the joys of living alone, Kuvira thought. She picked up a packet of research on lavender. Apparently, it was a good plant to use in wisescape gardens. She read until she had to read the same line five times and still couldn't process what it said. Then Kuvira went to bed. Two days until Friday, she thought, I can make it.  
The rest of the week passed in a blur of reading about plants, and groundcovers, and drawing preliminary designs. Friday snuck up on Kuvira. She was stuffing her notes and plans into her bag when Baatar walked up. "You ready to go?" he asked.  
"Ready? Oh! Yeah, dinner, I completely forgot." Kuvira hadn't completely forgotten, but she had pushed it to the back of her mind. "I'm ready to go." She smiled wide at Baatar. It was a little forced, but Kuvira was kind of excited to go to the Beifongs'. She at least hoped that the food would be good. At the very least, it had to be better than plain hamburger patties and ketchup.  
Baatar drove Kuvira to his home, a townhouse in one of the rich people neighborhoods in the city. Kuvira had to swallow her immediate disdain. He's an architect; they make shit tons of money. Just because Baatar has money doesn't make him a bad person. You know he's not, Kuvira, she told herself. She followed Baatar into the townhouse. The inside was beautifully decorated in greens, grays and gold. Suyin, the woman that instigated all of this, was folded elegantly on a pale green couch, reading a large book. She put it down to greet Kuvira. Kuvira gave the other woman a quick, appraising glance as she moved to greet Kuvira. Suyin was wearing loose, green pants and a dark gray top. She also had on a clunky metal necklace that Kuvira wouldn't have liked if anyone else had worn it. But Suyin seemed to make it work.  
"Kuvira," Suyin greeted, "it's so good to see you again." She pulled Kuvira in for one of the European style greetings where you kiss both cheeks of the person you're greeting. Kuvira stiffly went along with it. Suyin led her into the living room while Baatar ducked back into what Kuvira assumed was the kitchen. "Baatar's planning on cooking salmon with parmesan and tomato pesto. Does that sound agreeable?"  
Holy shit yes, that was agreeable to Kuvira. She hadn't had real food for weeks. "That sounds amazing. I can't wait to try it." Good food was worth a couple hours of conversation.  
"Great. How have you been, Kuvira?" Suyin sat down on the couch and motioned for Kuvira to join her. "Work treating you well? Baatar told me you're working on a new project."  
"Uh, yeah. I'm designing a wisescape garden for a client of Baatar's. It's all about using native plants and lowering water use. I spent the whole week researching plants." Kuvira didn't want to bore Suyin with the minutiae of her work. Most people didn't want to spend hours discusses what species of plants wasted the least amount of water.  
"Oh, like cacti?" Suyin asked. "I have to admit that I know very little about architecture and even less about plants. Baatar tries to educate me, but I'm a hopeless poly-sci major. " She laughed and Kuvira couldn't help but notice how beautiful Suyin was. She turned away from Suyin to hide the blush that crept onto her cheeks. A small picture frame on the coffee table caught her attention. It was a picture of Suyin, Baatar, and five younger people who must have been their children. Suyin noticed what Kuvira was looking at. "Those are my children. They've all gone off to college, or in the case of my youngest, boarding school."  
"Ah, it looks like you have a wonderful family, Suyin." Was that the right thing to say? Kuvira assumed so, but she had spent much time conversing with empty-nester housewives.  
"I do. My children are a blessing. Do you have any family, Kuvira?" Suyin's question was innocent enough, but it sent Kuvira into the beginnings of an emotional tailspin. Her lack of family was not something that Kuvira ever wanted to think about, let alone discuss with anyone. Especially a woman she barely knew.  
"No," Kuvira said tersely. She swallowed. There was no need to jump down Suyin's throat on a subject that she didn't know anything about. "Nope, just me." Kuvira tried to make her voice sound lighter. There was no need to make this evening depressing.  
"Well, I guess that means Baatar and I will just have to have you over for dinner more, Kuvira." Suyin said brightly. Kuvira looked at the older woman for more explanation. "Since you don't have anyone to go home to for dinner." Suyin looked genuine about inviting Kuvira over. It warmed Kuvira's heart.  
"Oh, well maybe. I don't know." Kuvira stuttered.  
"Well, at least think about. You seem like an intelligent young woman in need of a good dinner once in awhile. And I'm sure Baatar would love to discuss architecture with you." Suyin placed her hand on Kuvira's knee and squeezed gently. "I'm being serious Kuvira." Her voice dropped in volume and pitch. "I would love to have you over more." She looked deeply into Kuvira's eyes, and Kuvira found that she couldn't look away from Suyin's jade green eyes.  
"Okay. I-I guess that would be nice. Thank you." Kuvira said. She internally cursed Suyin for reducing her to a stuttering wreck. Suyin smiled and removed her hand from Kuvira's knee.  
"Dinner's ready!" Baatar called from the kitchen.  
Suyin jumped up and Kuvira followed her into the dining room. Even as she sat down, Kuvira's knee still tingled where Suyin had touched it.  
Dinner was amazing. The food was great, and Suyin and Baatar made Kuvira feel welcome. She and Baatar discussed the pros and cons of various landscaping techniques while Suyin complained that they were ignoring her. Kuvira and Baatar then continued their conversation after dinner in Baatar's home office. By the end of the night, Kuvira was worn out, but she had enjoyed her time with the Beifongs. Baatar gave her several landscape architecture books, and Suyin gave her a kiss on the cheek in parting that put a smile on Kuvira's lips. When she fell asleep in her apartment later, she was still smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks passed without incident after the dinner at the Beifong's. Kuvira had been able to forget about how beautiful Suyin Beifong was and focus on her project. She was done with the plans for the garden, but wanted to go over them with Baatar before showing them to the client. Kuvira put the plans down and stretched. She'd been going through them with a fine-toothed comb for over an hour. She was surprised to find that she was the only person left in the office. The clock on Kuvira's desk said 12:30 PM. Everyone must be out to lunch, she thought. Kuvira started pulling out her sack lunch when she heard someone enter the offices.  
"Hello," the person called. "Baatar are you here?" It was Suyin. She came into the workroom. "Ah, Kuvira. Have you seen Baatar? We were going to go out to lunch."  
"Uh, no, sorry. He's probably been gone for half an hour. I've just been here alone." Kuvira thought that Suyin should have known that Baatar was out to lunch already, and he hadn't mentioned anything about taking her out to lunch when Kuvira had talked with him earlier.  
"Oh," Suyin said as she surveyed the office. Her eyes focused on the mound of papers on Kuvira's desk and the sandwich she was holding. "Why are you still here, if everyone else has gone to lunch?"  
"Well, I was just working on polishing my plans for the garden I was talking about when I was your house for dinner. And I guess I lost track of time." Kuvira watched warily as Suyin came over and picked up one of her drawings. She held it at arm's length and hmmed thoughtfully.  
"This is really good, Kuvira. You'll make a wonderful architect." Kuvira blushed. Suyin put down the plan and looked at Kuvira with as much consideration as she had given the drawing. "Come to lunch with me."  
"What?" Kuvira spluttered. That was not what Kuvira had expected Suyin to say. She figured the older woman would stay and talk to her until Baatar got back.  
"Come to lunch with me. You look like you need to get out from behind that desk and soak up a little sun." Suyin sounded excited, so Kuvira decided to ignore the unintended insult Suyin had just thrown at her.  
"Okay. But I don't have a lot of money on me, and I need it for groceries." Kuvira was embarrassed by her financial situation, but being upfront with Suyin might dissuade her from taking Kuvira someplace fancy. The kind of place that catered to women like Suyin, in their pencil skirts, blouses, and designer heels.  
"I can buy you lunch. It would be my pleasure. Come on!" Suyin grabbed Kuvira's arm and dragged her out of the building. Suyin towed Kuvira into the swanky food district of the city, talking Kuvira's ear off during the whole walk. They stopped outside a hole in the wall gyro place on the far edge of the food district. Suyin turned to Kuvira. "Does this sound good to you, Kuvira? I love eating here. The food's great and it has a very artsy atmosphere."  
"Sure." Kuvira said. She had been to this restaurant before and had loved it. But she didn't tell Suyin this. Kuvira figured it would please Suyin if she acted like she'd never been to the restaurant before and loved it. Kuvira didn't understand why she wanted to please Suyin so badly, but she did.  
They went in and ordered. Suyin chose a table out back of the restaurant in a small, plant-filled courtyard. It was a very pretty place, and Kuvira figured it would be really romantic after dark when the string lights were lit. Suyin talked at Kuvira while they waited for their food, but Kuvira was daydreaming about sitting out here with Suyin after dark with the strings lights and all.  
"Kuvira, earth to Kuvira," Suyin joked. "Have you heard a word I've said." She didn't look hurt but amused that Kuvira had spaced out.  
Kuvira blushed. "No, I'm sorry, Suyin. I was just thinking about some things. It's not that I wasn't interested in what you were saying. It's just- there's a lot on my mind right now." Kuvira wasn't lying, technically; there were a lot of complications in her life that were worth pondering.  
Suyin opened her mouth to ask for explanation, but their food arrived. Kuvira was saved from explaining her poor situation while Suyin dug into her gyro with ferocity. Kuvira hoped that Suyin would forget her comment. However, when the food was gone, Suyin asked. "What sort of things are on the mind of someone as young as yourself? Kuvira, you can't be older than 22. If you don't mind me prying."  
Kuvira kind of did mind, but she found that she wanted to let Suyin in. The older woman had been nothing but nice to her. "Well Su, I'm actually 25. I had to take a couple years off to be able to pay for my education."  
"No!" Suyin interrupted. She looked genuinely surprised, but also a little relieved.  
"Yeah, I'm 25," Kuvira continued. "As for what's been on my mind, I'm kind of in a bad spot, financially. I don't have enough money for rent, groceries, and my tuition. The internship with Baatar pays well, but not enough. I'm getting kicked out at the end of the month." Kuvira's voice caught in her throat. She hadn't told anyone about this; it had been bottled up inside her for so long. Letting it out made her feel like a weight had lifted, but now Kuvira felt like she was going to cry.  
"Where will you go? Do you have any friends you can stay with?" Suyin reached across the table to grasp Kuvira's hand.  
Kuvira shook her head. She didn't trust herself to speak. She was so close to losing control, and she didn't want that to happen in front of Suyin. Kuvira took a deep breath. "There's a homeless student's shelter on campus, but I couldn't stay there for very long. I just - I don't know what to do." A couple tears leaked from Kuvira's eyes, and she dashed at them with a closed fist. It pissed her off that she'd lost control and was crying in front of Suyin. Kuvira didn't want Su to see her as weak. She glanced up at the older woman. Suyin was looking at her, thoughtfully.  
"Why don't you stay with Baatar and I?" She mused. "Yes, that would work. I should check with Baatar, but I'm sure he'd be fine with it." Suyin was talking more to herself at that point. Kuvira was dumbstruck. This woman that she barely knew was opening her home to Kuvira. Where had she been seventeen years ago when Kuvira had needed a home. "We have the room, of course, with all the kids gone." Suyin continued. "It's decided then."  
"Wait!" Kuvira said. "You'd really let me stay with you? A total stranger. I don't even have any money for rent or anything." Suyin had just offered a perfect solution to Kuvira's problem, but circumstances had made her wary of kind gestures; she just never knew what kind of strings might be attached.  
"I would love to have you stay with us. It wouldn't be a bother at all. And you're hardly a total stranger, Kuvira. You wouldn't have to pay us anything-"  
"Yes, I will pay you rent." Kuvira interjected.  
"Well then, we can deal with rent payments once you have some money. Let's get back to the office, and I can talk this over with Baatar." Suyin dropped forty dollars on the table and they walked back to the office in silence. Kuvira was too stunned to talk.

Everyone else was back from lunch when Kuvira and Suyin arrived. Kuvira hurried to her desk while Su went to talk to Baatar. Kuvira was so anxious. She couldn't focus on her work at all, and ended up pushing the papers around on her desk. The walls to Baatar's office were glass, so she could see him and Su talking. Suyin was gesturing wildly with her hands, and Baatar rubbed the back of his neck before nodding. Su jumped up excited and turned around to motion Kuvira over. Kuvira got up and walked into Baatar's office.  
"Please sit, Kuvira," Baatar said. She sat in the chair next to Suyin. Kuvira didn't realize she was shaking until Suyin grasped her hand. "So, Su tells me you're in need of a place to stay. While there's not a policy in this office about interns living at the boss' house, it is unusual. But I like you, Kuvira, and so does Su. You're a great intern, and I'd hate to see you homeless. Our door is open to you." He leaned back and studied Kuvira.  
"Really?" Kuvira asked. Baatar and Suyin both nodded. "Thank you so much. This means the world to me. I will repay you, I promise." Kuvira found herself close to tears again, but she swallowed them back. "Can I move in this Saturday? I need to be out of my apartment by Tuesday."  
"Of course," Suyin said. "Saturday would be perfect."  
"Okay. I'm going to get back to work now, if that's alright." She stood and looked to Baatar. He nodded, and Kuvira left. She had a new home. Kuvira was suddenly glad that Suyin had dropped by for lunch.


	4. Chapter 4

Kuvira got up early on Saturday to start packing her stuff. She'd picked up some boxes from UHaul yesterday and wanted to have them all packed before Suyin and Baatar came to pick her up at 11. She didn't have many possessions. All the furniture in her apartment belonged to her landlord. Kuvira emptied her shelf of architecture books and textbooks into one box. Her clothes fit in a suitcase and another box. She got all of her drafting tools into another box, one more for Kuvira's bedding, and a final box for her kitchenware. It was quite sad. 25 years old and all of Kuvira's possessions fit into five cardboard boxes and a suitcase. But that had been Kuvira's entire life after her parents had abandoned her. The foster system was not kind, but Kuvira had survived. She knew how to pack her entire life into one bag, if need be. At least she had learned something from years of misery, she snarked to herself.  
Kuvira fiddled with a small scrap of cardboard. She was nervous to move in with Suyin and Baatar. They were nice people, and Kuvira liked them both, but living with them would be something else entirely. Kuvira didn't know how she'd handle it. But it's only for a month or so, she thought. Until I can get enough money for rent. She nodded to herself, the pit of anxiety in her stomach shrinking slightly.  
However when Suyin and Baatar knocked on the door, her anxiety flared right back up. So much so that Kuvira worried she would have a full out attack. She took a deep breath and opened the door to let them in. Kuvira had stacked her boxes by the door, so Suyin and Baatar wouldn't see how bad of an apartment that she had. But Suyin just breezed past the boxes and into Kuvira's living room/bedroom.  
"This is where you've been living, Kuvira?" Suyin asked. Kuvira could sense the disdain in her voice, and Baatar gave her an apologetic smile on his wife's behalf.  
"Yeah," she said tensely. "Let's go." Kuvira picked up two of the boxes and hurried out the door. She glanced back to see Baatar pick up the other boxes and Suyin the suitcase. Kuvira dropped off her keys at the front desk and walked out without looking back. The past is the past, she told herself. Suyin and Baatar were offering her something better. An actual house with other people that would help her out.  
Kuvira was silent during the car ride to the Beifongs'.  
When they arrived, Suyin led Kuvira to the basement, instead of up the stairs, as Kuvira had anticipated. "Baatar and I talked it over, and we decided you would probably be more comfortable in the guest apartment in the basement. Instead one of my children's old rooms." Suyin smiled cautiously at Kuvira, and once again, she was struck by how beautiful the older woman was.  
"I would love that." An apartment in the basement? How rich were these people? Kuvira didn't really mind; they were giving her a place to stay, but she had never lived anywhere this nice. She followed Suyin down the stairs. As she looked around, Kuvira noted that when Suyin had said "apartment," she really meant a bedroom with a couch and kitchenette. And an attached bathroom, nice. Kuvira set her things down and nodded. "This is great. Thank you so much for this, Su. I am in your debt."  
"Oh don't worry about that," Suyin said with a flap of her hand. "It was the right thing to do." She pulled Kuvira into a quick hug. When Suyin pulled away, Kuvira's entire body tingled from the contact. "I'll leave you to unpack." She said hastily. Kuvira noticed a blush on Su's cheeks as she hurried upstairs.  
That made Kuvira pause. Was Su blushing about hugging her? Kuvira snorted and shook her head. Nah, she thought. That would be stupid. With that thought pushed out of her head, Kuvira focused her energies on unpacking.  
Kuvira spent about an hour unpacking and getting to know her room. She didn't need to spend that much time on it, but she felt awkward about going upstairs. She was already intruding on the Beifongs' lives, but she still wanted to be as unobtrusive as possible. Also, she didn't think she could face Suyin without thinking about that blush.  
There was an old CD player in one corner, and Kuvira pulled it out and plugged it in. It still worked. She stuck her Stevie Nicks CD in and laid down on the bed for a rest. One moment Kuvira was humming along to "Edge of Seventeen," the next thing she knew, Su standing in front of her.  
"What?" Kuvira asked groggily. She had seen Suyin's mouth move, but hadn't understood what she'd said.  
"I said, dinner's ready." She smiled at Kuvira. "Have a nice nap? I thought about coming down to check on you earlier, but you were so quiet; I didn't want to interrupt you."  
Kuvira nodded and rolled off the bed. She pulled her braid over her shoulder. "I didn't mean to sleep. I was just going to relax and listen to music..."  
Suyin put a hand on Kuvira's shoulder. She was still smiling. "It's alright. You can nap whenever you want. Well... you can do pretty much whatever you want around here. Baatar and I don't care." She sat down on the bed and motioned for Kuvira to join her. Kuvira sat. Su placed a hand on Kuvira's thigh. "I want you to be comfortable here. I care about you, Kuvira. I know it must be hard for you to be in a new situation, but I want you to know, that I'm here for you. If you ever want to talk. Or anything." She looked right at Kuvira as she spoke. Suyin seemed so genuine. It made Kuvira want to disappear.  
"I - well - uh - thank you." Kuvira stuttered, looking down at her lap. She was so grateful for Suyin's hospitality and her offer, but Kuvira just didn't know how to respond. Kindness for the sake of kindness had been a rare occurrence before now. She stared at Suyin's hand where it rested on her thigh. The older woman's touch was electrifying.  
Suyin placed a hand under Kuvira's chin and forced Kuvira to look at her. The stirrings Kuvira had felt for Suyin before rekindled as she stared at Su. Suyin smiled, and Kuvira blushed. The older woman stood and walked to the bottom of the stairs. "You coming?"  
Kuvira nodded, and a small smile appeared on her lips as she followed Suyin Beifong up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

Kuvira flopped on her bed after a long day at the firm. She'd had to deal with the rudest, most insensitive client ever. He had been awful the whole Kuvira had been going over the plans for his house with him. At first, the client had refused to work with Kuvira, because "a college intern couldn't possibly know anything." Then he had been an ass until Baatar had rescued Kuvira. It made her blood boil just to think about him. Kuvira was so upset that she hadn't even stopped to say hello to Su before rushing downstairs.  
She heard quiet footsteps on the stairs above here and groaned. Kuvira didn't want to talk to Su. She knew the older woman would want to talk about what happened today, and Kuvira was not in the mood to have her emotions pried out by Su. She rolled over and called, "I'm just tired, Su. I'm alright."  
"I'm afraid that I'm not Su." Kuvira rolled back over to find Baatar standing at the foot of the stairs. "May I come in?" He took a cautious step into the room.  
"Uh, yeah. If you're here to talk about what happened today, it's fine. I'm good." Kuvira was in fact not good. However, the prospect of showing Baatar any weakness was appalling to her.  
Baatar just smiled at her like he could tell that Kuvira was lying. "Alright then. I guess I'll go, but Kuvira, if you're ever dealing with a client who makes you feel uncomfortable, tell me. I can reassign them to someone else. You don't have to suffer in silence."  
"Thank you." Kuvira said quietly. Baatar nodded at her and left.  
Kuvira groaned and flopped back. Baatar had seen right through her, and that unsettled Kuvira. She wasn't used to other people knowing what she was feeling beneath the facade she had built. There was nothing she could do about that, so Kuvira curled up to take a nap. At least I can get away from their prying this way, she thought. It was kind of nice to have people that seemed to understand her, but Kuvira wasn't ready to admit that yet. Sleep was easier.

It was dark in her room when Kuvira woke. She sat up, disoriented. The clock on her phone said 10:57 PM. She'd slept for a long time. Kuvira ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. Her stomach gurgled, and Kuvira considered sneaking up to the kitchen for some food. Baatar and Su would already have gone to bed, so Kuvira would have to be quiet.  
She padded silently through the kitchen and eased the fridge open. She pulled out an apple and cursed Su for being such a health nut. The woman would not let potato chips anywhere near her kitchen.  
"I was wondering if you'd sleep all night." Kuvira jumped back from the fridge and spun around. Su was standing behind her, leaning on the counter. "Baatar told me not to wake you for dinner, so we let you sleep."  
"Thank you." Kuvira's heart still hadn't stopped racing. "It was good to just sleep. I needed it." Kuvira looked down at the apple in her hand and fiddled with the stem. Su just watched her while smiling softly.  
"Baatar told me what happened today. Do you want to talk about it?" Su stepped closer to Kuvira and reached out to put a hand on her arm. Kuvira leaned away from the touch.  
"Not really."  
"Then I'll do the talking. Come on." Suyin nodded her head towards the living room. Kuvira followed Su into the dark room. She couldn't imagine what Su wanted to talk about, but the thought of being alone with Su made the stirrings she had felt weeks ago begin to rise again. And Kuvira was afraid of what would happen if she let them rise. Su sat down on the couch and turned to Kuvira. "I've met the particular client of Baatar's that you worked with today. And he's the definition of an ass. I've tried to get Baatar to fire him before, but he just has too much money and power in this city. Baatar would lose his firm…" Su trailed off and looked down at her lap. Kuvira took the quietest bite out her apple as possible. Su looked up. "I guess I'm just trying to tell you that it's okay to talk about sucky things."  
Kuvira chewed and swallowed. She was grateful to Su for trying to be supportive, but Kuvira just wasn't used to opening up to anyone. "Thank you, Su, but really, I'm alright. Today was sucky, but I can handle it. You don't need to worry about me."  
Su sighed. "That's the thing though, I want to worry about you, Kuvira. I care about you, and that's what you do when you care about someone. You worry." Su took one of Kuvira's hands between her own and traced the lines on it with a finger. She furrowed her delicate brows as she looked down at their hands. "You want to watch a movie?"  
"What?" Kuvira asked. Su had spoken quietly, and Kuvira was not sure whether she'd heard Su correctly.  
Su's head snapped up. "A movie. Do you want to watch one? I'm afraid we don't have many. Just some movies that my children left behind. Baatar and I don't watch too much television."  
Kuvira was pretty tired, but a movie with Suyin sounded like fun. "Uh, sure."  
"Great!" Su jumped up and crossed the room. She pulled out a basket from under the flat screen. Kuvira followed her and knelt down to go through the movies. "Ooh!" Su exclaimed. "I remember enjoying this one." She held up an old VHS tape.  
Kuvira took it from her. "The Road to El Dorado," she read. It had been years since Kuvira had seen this movie, and once confronted with it, she was surprised to find that she wanted to watch it. "Sure. I'd love to watch this."  
Su smiled at Kuvira as she took the VHS and put it on. She went back to sit on the couch. Su patted the cushion next to her for Kuvira to sit on. Kuvira sat and cautiously leaned against the older woman. Su responded by wrapping an arm around Kuvira's shoulders. Kuvira settled into Su's curves as the movie started. During the movie, Kuvira laughed more than she had for a long time. And even though her eyelids kept drooping, the warmth of Su next to her kept Kuvira awake.  
As the credits rolled, Su turned to Kuvira and yawned. "That was fun, but I'm worn out. Sleep well, Kuvira dear." And she planted a kiss on Kuvira's forehead before rising. Kuvira watched Su walk up the stairs. She realized that both her and Baatar had known exactly what she had needed and given it to her without a second thought. And that made Kuvira smile. Because that meant that she had people who cared about her.


	6. Chapter 6

Kuvira walked into the firm one day to find the other interns, Anna and David, leaning against her desk. She sighed and dropped her stuff by her chair. "Hey guys, what's up?" Kuvira sat down and looked up at the pair. She wasn't very close with either of them. David and Anna were also entering their senior year, but they were younger than Kuvira, so she didn't talk to them a lot. They were nice people, but Kuvira wasn't close with anyone at the moment, except for Suyin and Baatar.  
David and Anna looked at each other before looking back at Kuvira. "Are you fucking Baatar?" Anna blurted out.  
"You always get the good projects and get to work with Baatar all the time. I mean you live with him and his wife. Like, that was the only thing Anna and I could come up with… As to why that would be." David rushed through that, leaving Kuvira even more confused. She leaned back in her chair to stare at the other interns.  
"So, are you? You know, fucking Baatar?" Anna asked again. She raised her eyebrows and looked right at Kuvira.  
"No!" Kuvira exclaimed. "I can't believe that you would think that." Anna didn't look convinced, so Kuvira glared at her. "And I'm only living with Baatar until I can get enough money gathered up to get my own place again."  
Anna leaned back and folded her arms. David glanced between the two women before grabbing Anna arm. "Let's go. She's says she hasn't slept with Baatar, and I believe her. Let it go, Anna." David practically dragged Anna away from Kuvira's desk.  
Once they were gone, Kuvira slumped down in her chair. Sleeping with Baatar? How could Anna even think that? It made Kuvira shudder. Not because the thought of sleeping with Baatar was terrible (it was certainly unthinkable), but because Anna thought that sex was the only reason that Kuvira was getting the good projects instead of her. Anna's just a privileged prep who always get the best everything. Kuvira told herself, but it still didn't make her feel any better. Anna's insinuations had made Kuvira feel unclean and dirty. She shook her head to rid it of those thoughts and tried to work on her project.  
As Kuvira climbed into Baatar's car at the end of the day, she couldn't help but think about Anna's allegation. It had been on her mind all day and had kept Kuvira from being at all productive. Now the thought of being alone with Baatar made Kuvira's skin crawl, and she hated that. Baatar was a wonderful man, and Kuvira had no reason to be uncomfortable around him. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to be constructive on the latest project she was working on with him with those thoughts stuck in her head.  
"Baatar," Kuvira began. He hmmed in response without taking his eyes off the road. "I want to be taken off the apartment complex project." She truly didn't want to leave that project, but it was for the best that she did. If she left the project, Baatar would bump Anna up, and she wouldn't think that Kuvira was sleeping with Baatar.  
"What? Why? You're a perfect fit for that project, Kuvira." Baatar glanced over at Kuvira, his confusion displayed in the set of his brows. "Is there some problem at the office that I should know about?"  
"No." Kuvira lied. "I just changed my mind about that project. I want to focus on landscaping, not high-rises." She hoped Baatar would drop the issue. She really didn't want to know what Baatar would do if he found out about the real reason why she was quitting the project.  
Baatar sighed. "Kuvira, I have five children. I know when I am being lied to. Your reasons are your own, but I would like the truth right now." He stole a glance at Kuvira, but she had turned away and rested her head against the window.  
Suyin was waiting to greet Kuvira and Baatar as they walked in the front door. Kuvira tried to duck out as Su gave Baatar a kiss, but he saw her and said, "Kuvira, stay." Kuvira stopped and looked down at her feet. She didn't want to do this now. Truthfully, she didn't want to do this at all.  
Su looked between her husband and Kuvira. "Baatar, what's going on?" She took his hand and lead them both into the living room. Kuvira took an armchair while Baatar and Suyin sat together on the couch. It made Kuvira feel isolated, and she suddenly she was sitting next to Su instead of Baatar. "Baatar?" Su asked again.  
"Kuvira has informed me that she wants out of the apartment complex project." Su gasped and made to interrupt Baatar, but he held up a hand to silence her. Kuvira looked down at the floor. "And she lied to me when I asked her why." Kuvira risked a glance up at the Beifongs and saw Baatar give her a sad look while Su stared into the distance.  
The silence seemed to stretch for hours until Su finally said, "But Kuvira, you were so excited to work on that project yesterday. What happened?" Su sounded so concerned, so Kuvira felt she couldn't do anything but tell the truth.  
"I don't want to quit the project, but Anna accused me of sleeping with Baatar to get the good projects. So I feel like I have to quit it to get her to stop." Kuvira took a deep breath and watched the Beifongs. Both Beifongs frowned and looked at each other before Su started to laugh. Kuvira stared, open jawed, as Su laughed her head off. She couldn't understand what Su would find funny about this situation. One of her husband's interns had accused her husband of sleeping with another one of his interns. Kuvira just couldn't find the humor in it.  
"Su. Su, it's not funny. Suyin, stop." Baatar tried to get his wife to calm down. He frowned at her. She quit laughing after glancing up at her husband's stern face. He turned to Kuvira. "Kuvira, that was a serious act that Anna accused you of. I'm… That was unacceptable of her. Would you prefer if I fired Anna?" He took off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. Su put a hand on his knee and gently massaged Baatar's leg.  
"No!" Kuvira exclaimed. "I just want this to be over. I don't want Anna to have any reason to be mad at me. Just take me off the project, Baatar. Please." The thought of Baatar firing Anna made something in the darker parts of Kuvira purr with joy, but she refused to give into that desire. Even though it would be a setback to Kuvira, it was much easier this way. Anna would have no fuel for her accusations, and no one would have to leave the firm. And most importantly, Kuvira could stay with the Beifongs. She enjoyed living with Baatar and Su and didn't want to have to leave. The thought of having to leave the place where she felt safest made Kuvira's throat constrict.  
Baatar and Suyin both frowned. If Kuvira hadn't been so anxious, she would have found their matching expressions to be cute or funny. Baatar sighed. "Okay, Kuvira. I'll take you off the project tomorrow and give Anna your spot. Are you absolutely sure this is want?"  
Kuvira nodded. She was grateful to Baatar for going along with her with little opposition. It made the panic roiling in her stomach calm a little.  
"Alright then. I'll make dinner," Baatar said. He and Su stood up to leave the room. Su gave Kuvira a smile and reached out to touch her shoulder. Kuvira stood before she could.  
"I'm not really hungry. I think I'll just go downstairs and hang out." Kuvira ducked out before they could argue. She was far too anxious to eat anything. Kuvira flopped down on her couch and pulled her knees to her chest. It felt great to have told Su and Baatar the truth, but it still weighed heavily on Kuvira. She tucked her head against her knees and cried. It was not a sad cry, but a weary one. Kuvira was so tired of things happening to her. She just wanted a simple life without all the shit that she seemed to attract. She had thought part of her life had been over when Su had offered her a room, but Kuvira guessed that it must just be her then, if a change of scenery hadn't stopped the bad things. Kuvira took a gasping breath and reached out for something, anything. She latched onto the coffee table and took several breaths. Kuvira hadn't had a panic attack in months. Even though that had been a small one, it still threw her for a loop. She wiped her tears away and stood up. Panicking about things out of her control would get Kuvira nowhere, she rationalized. Kuvira picked up a book on plants that Baatar had lent her and sat down to read it. She hoped that the boring book would help her down.  
A few hours later and after a lot of staring at the one page, Kuvira was crawling into bed when Su walked in. "Can I come in?" she asked. Kuvira nodded and Su sat down on the edge of Kuvira's bed. "I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. I was out of line."  
It took Kuvira a second to figure out what Su was talking about, but then she remember the older woman's laughter earlier. "Oh, don't worry about it. Why was that so funny?"  
Su sighed and lied down next to Kuvira. "No one has ever accused Baatar of cheating on me before. I'm always the subject of the rumors. How does a man like him keep her? Why does she stay with him?" She paused. "You probably don't want to hear about this, but I just felt like I should tell you why I laughed. To let you know that it wasn’t because I thought your situation was humorous or ―"  
"Su, it's fine." Kuvira interrupted. She didn't really want to know about Su's marriage problems, but Kuvira did want to support Su. "I'm sorry about all that, but really, I'm all right." Kuvira wasn't really all right, but she did not want to worry Su anymore.  
Suyin sat up. "Then, I'll go." Kuvira reached out and grabbed Su's hand. For some reason she couldn't totally understand, Kuvira didn't want Su to leave. "Unless you'd like me to stay?" Su smiled, and Kuvira nodded while a blush crept onto her cheeks. Su settled next to Kuvira and took her hand. Su moved closer to Kuvira and rested her head against Kuvira's shoulder. She worried that Su would be able to hear her heart pounding. "I know you say that you're fine, but that doesn't stop me from being sorry about this whole mess. Baatar and I feel awful."  
"There's nothing you can do about what Anna thinks. Please don't worry, Su." Kuvira turned her head away from Su, and despite her best intentions, she fell asleep with Su holding her hand.

After Kuvira had fallen asleep, Suyin gently released the young woman. Kuvira looked so peaceful in sleep. Su smoothed Kuvira's hair back from her face to get a better glimpse at the serenity only sleep could bring to her. It made Su's heart burst with affection for Kuvira. Affection for this woman who had experienced so much pain in her life, but who always wanted to avoid conflict. When Su had first seen Kuvira, all she had felt for the young woman was lust. She was a gorgeous young thing that Su could play with for a little while. But now, Suyin was surprised to find that she was falling in love with this melancholy, dark-haired beauty. She planted a gentle kiss on Kuvira's temple and went upstairs to Baatar, her mind still on Kuvira.


	7. Chapter 7

Kuvira rolled over and opened her eyes. Light streamed through the small window in the back and caught Kuvira right in the eye. She groaned. If the sun was in her face, it must have been close to 11 o'clock. Kuvira never slept in that late, even on a Saturday. Kuvira looked behind her at the empty space in her bed where Su had been the night before. At least that was what Kuvira thought had happened, she wouldn't have put it past herself to have dreamt the whole thing. There was no way that Su had been there last night. She rolled out of bed and trudged up the stairs, not caring that she probably looked like a mess.  
"Good morning, sleepyhead." Su greeted Kuvira cheerfully as she walked into the kitchen. "Coffee?" Kuvira nodded and sat down at the bar across from Su. Su tilted her head and looked at Kuvira as she poured a cup of coffee. "Did you sleep well? Are you… all right?"  
Kuvira took the cup from Su and looked down into its dark brown depths. "Yeah, I guess so. " She paused to look up at Su. "This business with Anna isn't really over, is it?"  
Su sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Baatar's upstairs puzzling over what to do about it. I was just going to take him some coffee. Do you want to talk with him?"  
Kuvira felt like she should sit down with Baatar and talk about what was happening, but then Kuvira looked into Su's eyes. In that moment, all she wanted to do was kiss Suyin. Kuvira looked down quickly. Where had that come from? She thought she had pushed away all her feelings for Su. "Um yeah. I'll go talk to him."  
"Good." Su said. "Would you take this up to him, then?" She handed Kuvira a second mug of coffee, her hand lingering on Kuvira's. She locked eyes with Kuvira, and what Kuvira saw there all but screamed that Kuvira hadn't been dreaming about the previous night. And that scared Kuvira. She took the coffee and practically bolted up the stairs away from Su and her feelings.  
"Hey Baatar, Su sent me with coffee." Kuvira ducked into Baatar's office. He spun around in his chair to look at her. Kuvira could see dark bags under his eyes, and Baatar's normally perfectly coiffed hair was messy. He looked like he had been up all night.  
"Oh, thank you, Kuvira. I've been up all night. I couldn't stop thinking about Anna and all this -" He gestured at the two of them. "And I've come up with a plan to fix this. It's rather simple; Su wanted to get back at Anna, but I don't feel that would be right. Su's far more vindictive than I, but you shouldn't hold that against her."  
"Baatar, you're rambling." Kuvira couldn't blame him though. He'd stayed up all night trying to fix her mess. She felt awful about it. But it was interesting to learn that Su had a vindictive streak. Kuvira hated how much that turned her on. She shouldn't have had feelings for Su at all.  
"Ah, sorry. I get rambly when I'm tired. So, the plan." He motioned for Kuvira to take a seat. "On Monday, you'll give Anna all your stuff on the project and tell her that she got moved into the position…" Baatar kept talking. Kuvira listened intently for the better part of an hour, nodding and interjecting with questions only when necessary. He was entirely over explaining it, but Kuvira let him. He was doing this for her.  
Su joined them later and perched on the arm of Kuvira's chair. She helped make Baatar's exhausted, coffee fueled rambling make sense. However, Su's close proximity didn't help with Kuvira's ability to focus. She couldn't get her mind off the night before, when Su had lain in bed with her and had held Kuvira.  
"So, you got all that?" Su looked down at Kuvira and grinned.  
"Uh yeah." Truth be told, Kuvira wasn't thrilled about the plan. She was worried that something would fall through. There was no way that Kuvira could get in trouble, but she would worry anyway.  
"Well, great then!" Su exclaimed. She clapped Kuvira on the shoulder before giving Baatar a kiss. She left.  
Kuvira fiddled with her coffee mug and stood to leave. "Wait, Kuvira." Baatar said. He motioned for her to sit down. She complied. "Are you sure that you're okay with all of this? I know it's a lot, and I don't want to force you to do anything that you're uncomfortable with."  
"No! I'm totally cool with all of this. Are you sure that it'll work, though?" Kuvira was grateful for Baatar's concern, but she was ready to do this, concerns aside.  
"Good, that's good." Baatar smiled at her and turned back to his desk, muttering to himself. Kuvira got up and went back downstairs.  
Kuvira found Su sitting in the living room reading when she came downstairs. Su glanced up at her as she took her mug into the kitchen. "Kuvira, could you come here for a second?"   
Kuvira frowned and went back to the living room. "What's up?" She sat down on the couch next to Su.  
Su took one of Kuvira's hands between hers. "Kuvira, are you sure about all this? We tried to make it as fool-proof as possible, but that small percent of error… I just want to know that you're okay with all of this." Su's brows knitted together as she gazed at Kuvira.  
Kuvira looked down at their hands, Su's slightly darker than her own. "Su, it's not even a risk for me. I'll be fine."  
"Okay, just don't put too much on yourself. Baatar and I can take care of each other and you, if need be. This is not all on you." Kuvira looked back up at Su, startled. Yes, Su had said that she cared about Kuvira before, but she had never said it so explicitly, with such meaning. Su leaned forward and rested her forehead against Kuvira's. "I just don't want you to get hurt."  
Kuvira pulled away from Su, shocked. Su looked at her with furrowed brows. "No one's ever cared that much about me before," Kuvira said. Su's eyebrows raised in surprise, then she enveloped Kuvira in a hug. Kuvira delicately placed her hands on Su's back. She wasn't sure how to go about this. Hugs and emotions weren't really her thing, per say. So she just let Su hug her. It felt nice to be wrapped in Suyin's arms; Kuvira felt safe like this. She could stay right here, in Su's arms, forever. But all too soon, Su let go of Kuvira and sat back.  
"Well that's different now." Su stated. She placed a kiss on Kuvira's cheek then left.

On Monday morning, Kuvira woke up tired. She almost wanted to tell Su and Baatar that she couldn't do it, but Kuvira knew that they would disappointed. She wanted that less than to carry out the plan. So Kuvira got up and went upstairs.  
She said a quick hello to Su and Baatar before diving into her breakfast. Baatar was ready to go by the time she was done eating, and Kuvira was glad for it. Because every time she looked at Suyin, Kuvira felt a warmth in her chest and a flutter in her stomach, and she needed to repress those feelings.  
Kuvira and Baatar walked into the office together. She looked over at Anna's desk and saw her and David hovering there. She ignored them and walked to her desk and put her things down. Kuvira took a deep breath. It was time.  
Kuvira picked up her binders on the project and walked over to Anna and David. Anna had a slight grin on her face. Instead of dropping the binders on Anna's desk, Kuvira handed them to David. "Congrats David," she said. "You're on the project." Kuvira gave the both of them a smile and practically waltzed back to her desk. The look on Anna's face had made it all worth it.  
As she sat down, Kuvira thought back to Baatar and Su's explanation of the whole thing. They had decided that it would be better to give David the project. That way Kuvira would be in the clear, and she could get back at Anna for accusing her of sleeping with Baatar. Kuvira looked over at David and Anna; she could tell that Anna was fuming. It made the darker part of Kuvira happy to see that. She watched as David got called into the project meeting, and as Anna went on with her other, much smaller project.

Kuvira was practically giddy as she and Baatar got home. She couldn't wait to tell Su about the look on Anna's face. Su was waiting for them in the kitchen. "How'd it go?" she asked.  
"Good. Kuvira did her part perfectly." Baatar gave Su a peck on the cheek before retreating to his office.  
Su turned to Kuvira, beaming. "That's wonderful, Kuvira. Now tell me, was Anna furious?" She moved around the bar to lean on it.  
Kuvira jumped up on the bar next to Su. "Yes! She fumed at her desk in silence all day. I could hear the angry typing from across the room. Everything went perfectly." Kuvira rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward. She was happier than she had been in a long time, and was thrilled that Su seemed to share her enthusiasm. Kuvira stole a glance at the older woman. She was staring into space.  
"Kuvira," Su said suddenly. She moved in front of Kuvira. The way she was sitting, Kuvira was at the same eye level as Su. Kuvira tried to look anywhere but at Su's piercing eyes, but Su gently grabbed her face and forced Kuvira to look at her. "If you want me to stop, just say so."  
Kuvira opened her mouth to ask what Su meant, but before she could, Su's mouth was on hers. Kuvira's eyes widened as Su kissed her. But she let them slip closed as she reciprocated, her lips closing around Su's.  
Su broke away from Kuvira, panting lightly. She pulled her hands from Kuvira's face. "I hope that was all right. I mean, I just assumed what you wanted, but if you don't, then I'm sorry." Su looked away from Kuvira.  
Kuvira was shocked. She had never heard Su be so unsure of herself. She grabbed Su's hands and placed them on her own hips, drawing the older woman closer. "I wanted it." Kuvira placed her hands on either side of Su's face and drew her back in for another kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

Kuvira finally broke away from the kiss. Her heart pounded in her chest drowning out the sound of Su's panting. She watched as Su fumbled for a bar stool to sit on. A small smile appeared on her lips as she looked at Su. She was a beautiful woman with her soft, tan skin and perfect red lips drawing Kuvira in. Kuvira groaned and dropped her head into her hands. Kissing Su had been the biggest mistake. (Suyin kissed Kuvira first, she reminded herself.) But it had felt so good, so right. Kuvira could feel the panic rising in her chest as she thought harder about the kiss. Su was married and almost twice Kuvira's age, and that shouldn't have happened; what was Kuvira going to do now. She started shaking and felt tears well in her eyes. Kuvira sucked in a shaky breath.  
She felt Su's hands on her shoulders. "Kuvira dear, it's all right. You're safe." That just made Kuvira shake harder. How could everything be all right? Su gathered her in a tight hug. "Shhhh, Kuvira, don't worry. It's okay. I'll take care of you."  
At that last statement, Kuvira stiffened and pulled away from Su. She had heard that speech before, and the speakers had never followed through. Kuvira jumped down from the counter and wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked at Su and tried to speak, but her words were all jumbled, so she just put her head down and left.  
Kuvira paced back and forth across her room, tears still in her eyes. As she paced, she tried to make sense of the raging tornado of thoughts in her head. Kuvira had to admit that she had feelings for Su, and being kissed by Su was amazing, but so complicated. Kuvira wanted nothing more than to march back upstairs and kiss Su again, complications be damned. Kuvira didn’t even know what that kiss had meant though. And that was the worst part, the not knowing. It made Kuvira feel unstable, like she was putting together a puzzle but was missing half the pieces.  
It killed her to not know what was happening. Without any control, she was spiraling towards a dark place that Kuvira would rather not revisit. She took a deep breath and tried to center herself by listing what she did know. She, Kuvira, was living with Suyin and Baatar. Today, Su had kissed her, and Kuvira had kissed her back. Suyin was also married, so nothing further could happen between Kuvira and Su. That made Kuvira sad, but it was necessary. She resolved herself to lock her feelings for Su deep inside and not cause any trouble. She had too many good things going for her, and didn't want to jeopardize her good standing with the Beifongs.  
Kuvira jumped as Baatar called down to her. Dinner was ready. Kuvira took a deep breath and steeled herself for it. Kuvira wasn't sure if she would be able to sit in the same room as Su and Baatar with all these feelings still swirling around unchecked inside her, but she had to try.  
Baatar and Su were already dishing up when Kuvira joined them. Baatar smiled at her like he did every night; Su's smile was questioning. Kuvira ignored her. She just needed to get through this meal.  
The three of them ate in silence, and the tension between Kuvira and Su was suffocating. Baatar seemed to sense this and tried to make conversation.   
"So, dear, did Kuvira tell you about what happened at work?" Su nodded. "Everything went perfectly. Kuvira was wonderful." He stole a glance at Kuvira to gauge her reaction. Kuvira just pushed her food around her plate without looking up. "Are you all right, Kuvira?" Baatar asked in his most fatherly voice.  
"My stomach's just not feeling great right now. Can I go?" Kuvira lied quickly and efficiently. She couldn't handle Baatar's questions, as well-meaning as they were. He nodded, and Kuvira darted out of the room.

Suyin and Baatar watched as Kuvira rushed out of the dining room. "What did you do that girl, dear?" Baatar asked. He removed his glasses to clean them on his napkin and waited for his wife's response.  
"I kissed her." Su said sheepishly.  
Baatar looked up. "And what possessed you to do that? You haven't even discussed your feelings with her, or actually checked to see if she feels the same. Su, sometimes I swear that you forget to think about others. And I mean that in the best possible way, dear." Baatar was truly frustrated with his wife. He loved Su, but she could be so inconsiderate at times. Kuvira was too delicate for Su to behave that way.  
"No, no, you're right." Su sighed and put her head in her hands. "I wasn't thinking. I just―Kuvira just looked so beautiful this afternoon when you both got home. She was so excited and just so alive. I couldn't help myself. I know I shouldn't have, but I did. And she did kiss me back."  
Baatar sighed. "Su… just go talk to her. Make this right."  
Su got up silently and gave Baatar a quick kiss before going downstairs to, hopefully, put an ease to Kuvira's worries.

Kuvira was picking her pj's off the floor when Su came in. "Can I come in? We should talk." She leaned against the wall across from Kuvira without waiting for a response. Instead of speaking, she watched, arms crossed, as Kuvira moved about the room. Kuvira took a seat on the bed and looked up at Su.  
"Su, what did that kiss mean?" Kuvira asked. She had to know what Su's intention had been when she kissed Kuvira. Kuvira didn't think that she could handle the anxiety she was feeling about the kiss much longer.  
"What?" Su looked over at her, delicate brows raised.  
Kuvira sighed. "Why did you kiss me, Su?"  
Su smiled. "Because I'm in love with you. And have been for some time." Kuvira could see that love in Su's jade green eyes. That frightened her.  
"You can't be in love with me!" Kuvira exclaimed, looking away from Su and her eyes.  
"And why is that, my dear?" Su sounded amused, so Kuvira stole a glance at the older woman. She was smiling.  
"Because you're married to Baatar, who is perfectly nice and deserves your love! Not me." Kuvira surprised herself with the force of her exclamation. She used to not let her emotions get out of check ever. But since she had met Su, Kuvira had been unable to keep that iron grasp on her emotions. Su, like the whirlwind she was, had overpowered Kuvira. Kuvira felt like she couldn't breathe.  
"Kuvira," Su said softly. "I do love Baatar. He is my rock, my world, but that doesn't mean that I can't love you too." She came and sat next to Kuvira. Su smoothed Kuvira's hair away from her face. She sighed. "I'm not doing a good job explaining this, am I? I should have brought this up before I kissed you, but I messed up, that's on me. Baatar and I have an… open relationship… Do you understand what I mean by that?"  
Kuvira thought she did, so she nodded. Su smiled and pulled her closer. "We are both free to seek out other lovers if we wish. I love Baatar so much, but my love for him doesn't limit the love I have for others, including you." Su ran a gentle finger along Kuvira's cheek. It sent a shudder through her. Su continued. "When I first met you at the party, all I wanted was to have sex with you, or something casual. " Kuvira jumped at the frankness in Su's words.  
"Su, I'm starting to understand. You don't have to continue." Kuvira started to undo her braid to give her quaking hands something to do.   
"Okay, but we need to talk about this. Kuvira, I've told you what I feel. Oh, how to be delicate about this?" Su sighed and looked deeply at Kuvira. "What do you feel about this, about me?"  
Kuvira shook her hair free of its braid, grateful for the barrier it provided between her and Su. The problem was that Kuvira wasn't sure exactly what her feelings for Su were. They were something close to love, but Kuvira was not a love expert. "Su, I don't know. I think I love you, but this is all so sudden and huge, and I just can't figure out what I'm feeling. I'm sorry."  
"Don't be sorry! This is all very sudden, but I just wanted you to have all the information you need to think this through. I'm the one who should be sorry for spring all of this on you!" Kuvira could hear the apology that went unsaid. Su had caused Kuvira pain was very sorry about having hurt someone that she loved. Kuvira figured that Su was just as bad at articulating emotions as she was sometimes.  
"It's okay Su. Thank you for explaining everything and for trying to make this right. I just need some time to think, okay?" Kuvira didn't say that she wasn't really the relationship type, because Su looked so hopeful, and more than anything, Kuvira didn't want to hurt her.  
"Okay then, love. I'll go back upstairs." Su ran her fingers through Kuvira's long hair and turned to leave.  
Kuvira grabbed her hand. "Wait. Would you kiss me again? To… help me figure out my feelings…" Kuvira felt childish for having said so, but when Su turned back to her and kissed her so sweet and tender,  
Kuvira had no regrets. At least, not at the moment.


	9. Chapter 9

One Month Later  
Kuvira darted into the office to get away from the rain. September had brought cooler, wetter weather than expected, and it made Kuvira's commute from the office to campus tricky. She mumbled hellos to the others as she made her way to her desk. As she sat down, Kuvira glanced at the picture of her and Su she had tacked to her corkboard. Baatar had taken the picture of them at a party for the firm and had given her a copy. They were both wearing green dresses, and Su had laughed so much at how they had matched. Kuvira's stomach churned every time she looked at it.  
She had told Su that she needed time, and Su had been gracious and given her all the time that Kuvira needed. It had been a challenging month, filled with knowing glances from Baatar and hopeful smiles from Su. As hard as that had been, Kuvira didn't regret a minute. Not even when Su's 5 kids had visited for a week at the end of August. Kuvira felt like she had taken enough time to think, and that decision wasn't just because she badly wanted to kiss Su again. Not that at all, she told herself.  
"Hey Kuvira," David called.  
Kuvira snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah, what?"  
"Do you have those landscaping plans for that skyscraper? The Zaofu Tower ones? I want to render them in the program with the building. I finished it last night."  
"Yeah, let me find them." Kuvira dug in her bag for the plans. "You finished the render? Nice." She handed David the plans when he came over to her desk. He stayed standing in front of her. "Was there something else? Is that not all the plans?"  
"No, no. That's all of them. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to get drinks after work." David shifted. "I mean, some of the guys and I were going to go. If you want to join us."  
Kuvira was taken aback. "Oh, thanks for the offer, David. But I don't drink."  
"Oh," David looked crestfallen. "I thought maybe we would have a good time."  
"I'm sorry David, but I've got a lot of homework, and just want to focus on school right now. Maybe some other time." Kuvira smiled at David and hoped she hadn't hurt his feelings too badly. She did like David, and he had been really nice to her after the whole thing with Anna. He nodded and walked back to his desk without saying a word.  
Kuvira sighed. David was nice, but she was much too into Su to even consider dating him. He'd probably be a better person to be going out with, Kuvira thought bitterly. She cursed her heart for making her fall in love with the wrong person. Well, at least Kuvira was certain that she was in love with Su, after a month of thinking.  
Kuvira worked until five thirty. That was when she realized that Baatar was gone for the week, and she'd have to walk home. She gathered up her things and left the office. Kuvira wondered about calling Su for a ride, but she shook that thought off. Kuvira didn't need to bother Su. She'd be fine walking home.  
She only made it to the end of the block before Su pulled up alongside her. "Can I give you a lift? A young woman such as yourself shouldn't be alone at night." Su laughed as Kuvira climbed in. "Why didn't you call me? I was worried when you didn't come home at 5 or call."  
Kuvira blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to bother you." Now that Su was here, Kuvira could see how silly she had been in thinking it would have bothered Su. It was just hard to reach out and trust people.  
"How many times am I going to have to tell you that doing things for you isn't a bother, Kuvira?"  
More than once, Kuvira thought. "Sorry, so what are we having for dinner?" Kuvira diverted. "Do we have any food in the fridge?"  
"Kuvira, I am truly hopeless in the kitchen. Do you want to go to that Mongolian place you were telling me about?" Su stole a hopeful glance at Kuvira.  
"Sure. It's not really fancy or anything, but the food's good." Kuvira was a big fan of Mongolian Barbeque, but she was worried that the atmosphere at the hole-in-the-wall restaurant would clash with Su's upscale style. She quietly gave Su the directions to the restaurant and hoped that wouldn't be the case.  
"Are you sure this is the place?" Su asked as they pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall that housed the restaurant.  
"Yeah. I did say it wasn't a fancy place." Kuvira glanced across the highway at her old apartment, and she recalled many late nights working on homework there and munching on Mongolian food.  
"Okay, I just didn't expect this kind of… atmosphere." Su said carefully.  
Kuvira snorted. What atmosphere, she thought. Kuvira was amused by Su's uncertainty, and almost laughed at the thought of Su in her pencil skirt and heels at the restaurant. She figured she'd have a chance to actually laugh at it in a minute.  
They went inside and put together their noodle dishes. Kuvira had to explain to Su how it all worked, and the older woman had insisted on having Kuvira help her through the entire process of filling her bowl and putting sauces in it. While their food was being grilled, Su slipped her hand into Kuvira's. "Thank you for bringing me here. I'm having fun tonight." She whispered to Kuvira.  
Kuvira blushed and smiled. "I'm glad. I was worried this place wouldn't be up to your standards."  
Su laughed at Kuvira's teasing. They grabbed their food from the cook and went to sit down. Kuvira slurped down her noodles in silence. She didn’t know what to say to Su. She didn’t think it was appropriate to discuss their relationship in public.   
Contrary to what Kuvira thought was appropriate, Suyin brought up their relationship at the first available moment. “I’ve being trying to give you space, Kuvira. Has it been enough? I’m not used to this… Have I been doing everything right?” Su furrowed her brows as she looked at Kuvira.  
“How should I know?” Kuvira blurted out. Su recoiled slightly. “You’ve been wonderful, and I think I know what to do now. But can we wait to talk about it till we get home?”  
Su smiled and nodded. “I would love that.” She picked her chopsticks back up and went back to her noodles. Kuvira watched Su eat for a minute and was struck again by how beautiful Su was, even while eating noodles. Kuvira figured that would never end.  
Kuvira and Su chattered mindlessly through the rest of dinner. Su told Kuvira about her new teaching gig at the local university, and Kuvira talked about her project at the firm. She left out how David had invited her to drinks. Kuvira didn’t think it would be proper to bring it up. Not when she was on a quasi-date with Su. They left the restaurant and walked through the parking lot hand in hand, having not let go through most of dinner.   
“Thanks for dinner, Su. You didn’t have to do that, you know.” Kuvira bumped her shoulder against Su’s. It irked her that Su would never let her pay for groceries or food or gas.   
“I enjoy doing it. I love spoiling you, Kuvira.” Su let go of Kuvira to get in the car. Kuvira watched Su as they drove home. The older woman watched the road with such intensity. Kuvira didn’t think she’d ever get used to being the focus of that intense gaze. She had thought this before, but Kuvira couldn’t help but compare Su to the sun again. She was just so bright and in Kuvira’s mind all the time; she couldn’t help but be drawn in by Su’s gravity. Her falling for Su was inevitable.   
Su glanced over at Kuvira and frowned slightly. “What’s that sad face for?”   
“Oh nothing, I was just thinking.” Kuvira said, and she smile to keep Su from asking her any more questions.   
When they got home, Kuvira lead Su down to her room, where she felt most comfortable. They sat on the couch, and Su took Kuvira’s hand. Kuvira took a deep breath and looked up at Su. “I’m ready to try this.” She pointed at them both. “Su, I’ve thought about it and you everyday, and this is what I want.”  
Su looked down at their intertwined hands, one tan and one pale. “Kuvira, nothing could make me happier, but are you sure? I don’t want to rush into anything and hurt you. I’m old enough to be your mother, for goodness sakes! I don’t…” She trailed off and looked up at Kuvira, her jade eyes filled with apprehension.   
“I’m sure, Su. I’ve thought about the age thing, and it doesn’t matter to me. And we don’t have to rush into anything. I’ve never really done good relationships. It would be nice to take this slow.” Kuvira hated admitting that she hadn’t had good relationships in the past, but she had to be truthful with Su if she wanted their relationship to work. She at least knew that.  
“I can do slow.” Su let go of Kuvira’s hand and moved to undo Kuvira’s braid. Kuvira let her, and made a low noise in her throat as Su ran her fingers through Kuvira’s long hair. “Can I kiss you?” Su asked.   
Kuvira nodded and leaned into Su. The older woman took Kuvira’s face in her hands and kissed her. Kuvira let her hands fall to Su’s hips as their lips crashed together. Su slipped into Kuvira’s lap and pushed her back onto the couch. Kuvira ran her fingers through Su’s hair and felt Su moan against her mouth. Su’s hands slid to Kuvira’s hips and began to wander towards her chest. Startled, Kuvira grabbed them and murmured, “Slow.”  
Su immediately let go. “I’m sorry.” She sat up and moved away from Kuvira. “I got caught up in the kiss and…”   
“It’s okay, Su. I just wanted to remind you.” Kuvira leaned in for another quick kiss. “Will you sleep down here tonight? Just sleep.”  
Su nodded. “Just let me change clothes and brush my teeth.” She darted upstairs.  
Kuvira took a deep breath and changed into her own pajamas. It had felt so good to kiss Su, and part of her had wanted to let Su do what she wanted. But the rational part of Kuvira knew that moving too fast would only lead to hurt for the both of them. She sighed and splashed cold water on her face to try and rid herself of some of the thoughts swirling in her head. Thoughts she’d rather not be having while trying to sleep next to Su.   
Kuvira crawled into bed to wait for Su. She looked down at the running shorts and old t-shirt that were her pajamas and wondered what Su wore to bed. Kuvira hoped that she wouldn’t feel too trashy next to whatever fancy pajamas that Su must own. She wasn’t left to wonder long.  
Su came back into the room wearing a tank top and flannel pants. Kuvira almost sighed in relief. Su crawled into bed next to her and kissed Kuvira gently. “You ready to sleep, my dear?”  
Kuvira wasn’t but yes was the right answer, so she nodded. She gave Su another quick kiss settled into the bed. Su lay down behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Goodnight,” Kuvira murmured.  
“Goodnight.”


End file.
